Without you
by Ryan Bowden
Summary: An original story about a soldier named Ryan and his lover Jake taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3. This story runs parallel to the events of the game, featuring original characters interacting with the story in a way that does not impact on any of the choices made in the Mass Effect trilogy, thus making the story accessible to anyone regardless of play style.


Without you…

The sky was bright and warm. There wasn't a cloud in sight. Ryan lay there smiling at it as though it had just told a humorous tale. The warm sea breeze caressed his face like the gentle touch of a lover. He slowly opened his eyes to see that the soft touch on his face was actually that of his lover. Jake stared back at him lovingly, yet he had that cheeky grin that he always got before he teased Ryan for something. Usually about being older than he was.

"Taking a nap old man?" Jake quipped with his cheeky grin.

Ryan smiled the kind of smile that betrays his amusement. "Can I offer you an arse whooping?"

Jake smiled as he made himself comfortable lying on top of Ryan. "Well that depends on the spirit in which it is given." He smiled as he gently leaned in and kissed Ryan on the lips. Ryan quickly grabbed and spun Jake onto his back, the two of them sinking slightly in the warm beach sand.

"Easy Lieutenant. I'm pretty sure man handling civilians is some kind of offense."

"They can court martial me." Ryan smiled as he kissed Jake, harder this time.

The two lovers enjoyed each other for a moment on the sand. The rest of the planet needn't have existed. As the two laid in each other's arms, Jake uncomfortably produced the small shell that was digging into his back. He brought it up to look at it and smiled. As he examined the shell in the light, a rainbow of colours shimmered off of it.

"Cool." Ryan smiled looking at it as well. "So what's the plan for tonight?"

"Ah, meeting Grace and her new boyfriend in a couple hours for dinner and drinks at the Angry Krogan." Jake replied playing with Ryan's chin.

"Really? So what's wrong with this one?"

"What do you mean?" Jake asked curiously.

"Oh come on, she picked the last one because she thought 'Dumpster Diver' was a noble profession and then she ended it because he had a weirdly shaped penis. Babe, I know she's your friend but the girl's not playing with a full stack."

"Just promise me you'll play nice?"

"I promise." Ryan smiled, kissing Jake softly. "Come on, let's go. I need to remove about 8 tons of sand from my arse."

Jake laughed as the two got up and shook themselves off before heading back to their beach front apartment.

Ryan stepped into the large shower, still shaking sand from his short brown hair. As Ryan begins to lather his body, Jake comes in behind him with his cheeky grin. As Ryan turns to greet his shower intruder, Jake presses him against the tiled wall and kisses his lightly stubbled jaw. Ryan runs his hands through Jake's short dark hair before pulling back and staring into his electric blue eyes.

"This may make us late." Ryan whispered.

"Oh who gives a fuck, the guy's probably a freak anyway."

Ryan laughs loudly as Jake brought something up and begins tying it around his neck.

"What's this?" Ryan asks as Jake ties the necklace around his broad shoulders.

"Well, you're going off planet in a couple of days, and I thought this would help you remember me."

Ryan looks at the necklace and sees the shell Jake had discovered on the beach earlier. His brown eyes come up to meet Jake's with a look of adoration. He gently kisses Jake.

"Thankyou." He smiles. "Although, I don't need anything to remember you. All I have to do is close my eyes and there you are. Forever."

Jake stares back at Ryan for a moment. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you."

"That's not possible."

The two lovers embrace again, passionately. Jake leaps into Ryan's arms as he presses him against the glass wall of the shower. Jake's hands run over the steamy wall leaving hand prints and condensation running down it.

Ryan and Jake leave their apartment building, both still smiling from the afternoons activities. They turn down the street, holding hands as they walk into the busy Sydney streets. The evening sky was clear and the temperature mild. The two lovers continued their conversation about what to expect from Jake's best friends new lover, laughing as they walked.

As they moved down the street, the cries of a dishevelled homeless man could be heard ranting about the end of days. A not uncommon occurrence in parts of Sydney, but usually restricted to the poorer areas. Ryan looked at the man, wondering why he didn't even have a collection plate. This guy was just wanting to rant at people. Jake and Ryan walked past the man, holding their breathes from the smell. All of a sudden the man grabbed Jake by the arm and moved way too close to his face.

"They're coming! You're not safe. Nobody is safe!"

Ryan grabbed the man's arm and pulled it back violently.

"Hands to yourself." He said in a calm authoritative tone. The homeless man visibly calmed down and stepped back as Ryan let go.

"Are you okay?" He asked Jake as the two continued walking.

"I'm fine, he was harmless." Jake replied brushing his arm.

"Yeah well, he was close to being armless." Ryan snarled looking back at the man. He turned back to Jake to see an unimpressed look on his face. "What?"

"That was a terrible joke." Despite this admission, Jake couldn't help but feel a smirk forming on his handsome face. Ryan began to laugh too, oblivious to the fact he was even making a joke.

The two continued on their way until they reached a store selling vid screens. A news report was playing that had drawn some attention from onlookers. Ryan and Jake kept walking, but Ryan picked up the faint mention of lost comms. Being Alliance, this piqued his interest. However, Jake pulled him along before he could gather further information. As they get closer to the restaurant they began to notice other groups of people, strangely standing around, talking, viewing news vids on their omni tools.

"What's going on?" Ryan stopped and asked Jake.

"Ryan, something doesn't feel right." Jake said, a worried tone in his voice. He looked around trying to pinpoint the source of his unease. Ryan felt it too and was also looking.

"Do you hear that?" Ryan asked.

"No, I don't hear anything."

"Exactly." Ryan started to worry. Something he rarely did.

A faint rumble began to run across the sky. Almost like thunder. Everyone in the street looked up, not a sound from any of them. Hundreds of pairs of eyes, scanning the evening sky for some sign of a disturbance. Just then Ryan spotted a dull red glow in the distance. It began to glow brighter as long shapes, almost like fingers begin to appear and descend towards them as well. All of a sudden a loud horn sound blared through the streets and the red glow erupted into a burst of energy that slammed into a nearby building, destroying it instantly and sending shockwaves through the city, decimating even more buildings and knocking everyone to the ground. Ryan and Jake were both sent into the air, Jake through an open window nearby and Ryan into a solid wall.

Ryan struggled to remain conscious, his ears ringing from the blast and the knock to the head the wall delivered to him. He looked around the streets, the dull sound of everyone somewhat muted by the ringing in his ears. His heavy breathing strangely louder than everything else. He looked for Jake but couldn't see him anywhere, bringing panic to his throat.

"Jake!" He cried, or choked anyway. He climbed through the broken window, shards of glass cutting his hands and arms. He looked through the rubble for Jake, throwing tables and anything in his way around as if they were nothing. "Jake!" Desperation crept into his voice, again not a common occurrence for Ryan. He then spotted an arm, lying lifeless under some rubble. A small bracelet around the wrist. Jake's bracelet. He made it the first time Ryan went off planet. It was a replica of his dog tags, but smaller to fit on Jake's wrist so he would never be far from him. Ryan's stomach leapt into his throat and his heart dropped into his gut all at once. He raced to the rubble and flung it off Jake's body like it was cardboard. Jake lay there motionless.

"Jake!" Ryan grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. He checked his breathing and pulse and was relieved to find both. Another huge explosion outside shook the entire building, shaking Jake awake as well. He gasped for air and sat straight up, startling Ryan.

Jake looked around, panicked at what had just happened and trying to make some sense of it. Ryan grabbed him and hugged him so hard that it almost cut off his breathing.

"Are you okay?!" Ryan asked him, frantically searching his body for any major injuries.

"I'm fine." Ryan kept checking despite Jake's insistence. "Babe! I'm fine, really."

Ryan finally listened and looked him in the face. He kissed him hard, relief flooding his body.

"We need to get out of here, now." Ryan ordered, lifting Jake to his feet.

"What's going on?" Jake asked as he struggled to get up amongst the debris.

"Shepard was right." Ryan said solemnly.

Jake stopped in his tracks. Ryan had told him all about the great Commander Shepard and a team of humans and aliens that took down the rogue Spectre Saren when he attacked the Citadel a couple of years back, and their attack on the Collectors 6 months ago. And their insistence that a war was coming with a race of machines like the Geth. They called them Reapers. They also claimed they wiped the Protheans out 50,000 years ago.

"Reapers." Jake whispered in fear. Ryan grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the window. They fled back outside, dodging the debris that littered the streets. People were running all over the place, panic replacing logic. The huge Reaper in the sky was joined by several others, all blasting huge red beams of energy into the landscape, destroying everything they touched. Their great horns blaring with each burst of power.

Ryan and Jake kept running. Neither of them with any idea where they were going. Just as long as it was far from the towering menace destroying their city.

"Where are we going!?" Jake panted as he ran alongside Ryan.

Ryan kept running, desperately trying to find an answer for him.

"We need to get to base. If we can get there we should be able to get a ship and get off world." Ryan answered, happy to have a plan instead of running blindly.

"Off world!? We can't just leave! What about our family, our friends? Oh god, Grace!" Jake stopped as he remembered his friend was probably in the restaurant he just woke up in.

"Babe, I know you're scared, but right now we need to get out of here. If anyone's still alive, it won't be for long, and we'll be joining them if we don't get out of here. The only thing I care about right now is getting you somewhere safe!" Jake stared at Ryan, as he pleaded with him to keep moving. He knew he was right. He was always right. A fact Jake hated and loved in equal measure. He wasn't going to win this argument, but he knew Ryan was making the right decision. He grabbed his hand and they both continued running.

As the Reapers filled the sky, so too did Alliance ships. All making a vain attempt to attack the ancient beings, and having no luck. One ship crashed right in front of Ryan and Jake, catapulting the pilot almost to their feet. He didn't survive the crash, but luckily his sidearm did. Ryan grabbed the weapon and an extra thermal clip from the pilots belt to arm himself. They continued to run for the harbour where the Naval base was located. As they approached the base, they were attacked by something that almost resembled a Batarian. Only its entire body was twisted into some kind of bio-mechanical construct. Ryan gunned down the attacking creature and quickly examined its body as they passed. On closer inspection, it was in fact a Batarian. Or it used to be. Its mouth was stuck open in a soundless scream, a strange blue glow emanating from its throat.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jake asked catching his breath from the running.

"Yeah. Looks like the Reapers came through Batarian space first."

"Is that what they're gonna do to us?"

Ryan looked at Jake and grabbed him. He was terrified. Ryan felt bad for neglecting Jake's pain, but there simply wasn't time at the moment.

"No. You listen to me. That is not happening to us. We are going to make it out of here, we're gonna wipe the fuckers out and the galaxy is going back to the way it was. You hear me?"

Jake nodded, but he clearly wasn't convinced.

"Hey, when have I ever lied to you?" Ryan stared him dead in the eye. Jake looked at him, feeling safe in his gaze. It was true. Ryan had never lied to him. And he believed he never would. He nodded at Ryan, feeling himself relax slightly.

"Yeah. Okay, let's go." He smiled reluctantly at Ryan and they began running again. Before they moved out of sight of the Batarian corpse, Ryan turned and looked at it. Two others had come to its side and were actually eating it's corpse. Ryan was equal parts disgusted and fascinated by the strange behaviour his new enemy was exhibiting. But there was no time to study the strange cannibals anymore. They needed to get out of here as fast as they could.

As they approached the Darling Harbour Naval Base, Ryan's fears were being realised. The invasion had beat him there. The strange cannibal like Batarian creatures were attacking the base, Alliance soldiers so far managing to hold them back.

Ryan and Jake approached the fence line where a group of soldiers were fighting back a wave of Cannibals. Ryan silently motioned for Jake to get behind cover while he moved in silently towards them. Jake had never seen Ryan in action before and he marvelled at how skilfully he moved. How silently. Ryan quietly climbed some crates next to the attacking Cannibals and worked his way to the top. To Jake's amazement, Ryan leapt from the top create, his Omni-Tool blade extending as he fell towards a group of Cannibals. The blade sunk into one of the former Batarian's faces as it and Ryan collapsed to the ground. Almost as if caching the bounce, Ryan was back on his feet, sidearm drawn. He mowed down 4 more Cannibals with shots to the central forehead of their once Batarian faces.

Once the enemies were down, Ryan motioned for Jake to return from cover and the two moved in behind the barrier to join the soldiers.

"That was some fancy display, you Alliance?" One of the female soldiers asked Ryan.

"Yes ma'am. Lieutenant Commander Falks. Systems Alliance Navy." Ryan saluted his superior officer.

"Major Sofia Vasquez. At ease soldier." Major Vasquez responded.

"What's the situation ma'am?"

"Unknown at this point. Comms are down across the board, right now we're just trying to survive."

Another soldier suddenly ran over to the Major, radio in hand.

"Ma'am, word from the Brass is these things are attacking planet wide. Alliance command is ordering all survivors to evacuate the planet."

"There's your answer soldier." The Major responded. As Vasquez rallied the troops to issue commands, Jake walked over to Ryan, embracing him. Ryan looked down at Jake, holding him back.

"I told you we'd be okay." He smiled.

"I never doubted you for a second." Jake smiled back.

The tell-tale sound of a Reaper weapon sounded before the building they were standing next to exploded in a shower of debris and fire. An Alliance cruiser landed on top of Jake and Ryan, the door having been blown off. They were collected with the wreck and thrown aside colliding with and killing many soldiers as it flew across the field. As the wreckage came to a stop and Ryan lifted his head out of the cruiser, he realised it had actually saved their lives. Sadly, the rest of the team weren't as lucky. The explosion had killed what the wayward cruiser had missed.

Ryan helped Jake out of the wreck and began scanning the area for survivors. As a chunk of debris moved to his right, Ryan found Major Vasquez still alive. He hurried over and pulled her out of the wreckage.

"Are you alright Major?"

"I'm fine. Are there any other survivors?"

"No ma'am. I don't think so."

Another explosion from the approaching Reaper spurned them into action. Ryan grabbed Jake's arm and began running, following the Major around to the shuttle bay.

"Hopefully that son of a bitch hasn't taken everything out!" Vasquez yelled as they got to the hangar. Ryan helped her pull the hangar door open to reveal that a blast had in fact torn it open already. Amongst the debris, Vasquez spotted an Alliance Kodiak that appeared to be in working order. She ran over to the shuttle and began to investigate it's flight readiness.

"We're good!" She yelled out to the other two. Ryan and Jake climbed into the shuttle as Vasquez fired hers up. The doors closed and they began to exit the wrecked hangar. Ryan helped Jake strap himself in before joining Vasquez in the cockpit. He kept his eyes on the Reaper as they began to fly away. As they flew past the hulking beast however, Ryan saw the dull red glow forming from next to one of its giant arms.

"Oh god, no." Ryan muttered. Vasquez spotted what Ryan had and braced for evasive manoeuvres.

"Hang on to something!" She yelled as she banked the shuttle hard to the right, narrowly missing the blast from the Reaper. The Reaper began another assault when an Alliance dreadnought unleashed a blast to the beast. The concussive force from the blast knocked the shuttle about, sending Ryan to the ground hard. Jake unstrapped himself from his seat and went to Ryan's side. To Ryan's surprise, Jake had him up on his feet before he even realised what had happened. Jake slammed him into the seat next to him before strapping himself back in. Ryan also fastened his restraints as Vasquez regained control of the wayward shuttle and used the distraction of the Alliance dreadnought to get the three of them to relative safety.

As the shuttle began to leave Earth's orbit, Ryan and Jake looked out the window at the view of their home planet. Bright glowing spots across the surface highlighted capital cities and military hot spots. The Reapers knew what they were doing. And they were winning. Earth had fallen.


End file.
